cover image Rice Diet Report

Rice Diet Report

Judy Moscovitz. Putnam Publishing Group, $16.95 (242pp) ISBN 978-0-399-13141-7

The good news is that the title of this book is a bit of a misnomer, since it isn't a fad diet consisting only of rice. The menus and recipes offered here include fruits, vegetables, proteins and various carbohydrates. Pounds reportedly come off quickly, safely and in large quantities in a six-phase regimen low in protein, cholesterol and sodium, and high in fiber. According to Moscovitz, more than 20,000 people have been treated by Walter Kempner, M.D., of Duke University since he developed the diet over 40 years ago, and many have kept the weight off. The bad news is that the rigid diet must be followed exactly, allows virtually no salt or spices, and prescribes a paltry calorie intake. The author hastransferred her fanaticism from food to the Rice Diet: ""Mosco-Fats'' was ``a 275-pound ugly mound of flesh'' who sold her worldly possessions for a stay at Kempner's clinic. Recalcitrant dieters who are similarly obsessed may be inspired by this thorough book. 75,000 first printing; 75,000 ad/promo; first serial to the Star; author tour. (April)